I’m not going to get a knighthood anyway...
Actor Rufus on his film about THAT Andrew interview
RUFUS Sewell says he modelled his version of Prince Andrew in new film Scoop on The Office character David Brent.
He turned to the comedy creation by Ricky Gervais as he tried to “find a line where the humour of it lay”.
Rufus said: “To me, it’s a horrible thing, but watching the interview his performance reminded me of David Brent. That’s not to be ignored.”
Brent, the terrible boss at a paper firm, is a tragic if accidentally funny figure who lacks any self-awareness.
Rufus, 56, decided to play Andrew, 64, having accepted he was never going to top the honours list.
“Of course, I thought of the possible repercussions. Then I thought, ‘F*** it, I’m not going to get a knighthood anyway’.”
The Netflix dramatisation of the BBC’S car-crash 2019 Newsnight scoop also stars Gillian Anderson as interviewer Emily Maitlis.
Asked why he thinks Andrew agreed to appear, Rufus said: “I think he feels a genuine sense of victimhood, and how not fair everything is.”
ABSURD
Scoop producer Hilary Salmon stressed it was important to strike a balance between the serious nature of the sex crimes committed by Andrew’s pal Jeffrey Epstein and the “absurd” claims by the Prince.
These included not being able to sweat, being in Pizza Express and not knowing where the bar was in members-only club Tramp.
“The answers he gave were jaw-droppingly outrageous and impossible not to laugh at really,” she said.
The film is told from the point of view of ex-newsnight booker Sam Mcalister, played by Billie Piper.
Sam believes it was Andrew’s desire to walk daughter Beatrice down the aisle and celebrate his 60th birthday that made him do the interview.
She said: “He was now persona non grata. He wanted to go back to the wonderful way of life he had had.”
Scoop is on Netflix from April 5.